Such toy construction systems have been known for decades. Over the years, simple box-shaped building blocks have been supplemented with other construction elements with either a specific appearance or a mechanical or electrical function to enhance the play value. Such functions include e.g. motors, switches and lamps, but also programmable processors that accept input from sensors and can activate function elements in response to received sensor inputs.
Several attempts have been made to control virtual game play by means of physical toys.
For example, US 2011/298922 discloses a system for extracting an image of a physical object. The extracted image can be digitally represented on a display device as part of a virtual world, or video game, where the objects inhibiting the virtual world and/or video game, were designed and built from the construction set in the real-world. However, in many video games or other virtual environments it is desirable to provide three-dimensional virtual objects.
According to at least one aspect, it is thus desirable to provide a process for creating three-dimensional virtual objects from physical toy construction models in a user-friendly manner. In particular, it is desirable to provide such a method in which the user is not required to go through a large number of steps to configure and modify the resulting virtual object, i.e. where the creation of the virtual object is performed in a highly automated fashion, requiring only little user interaction.
For example GB 2 365 796 discloses a game system that comprises a toy which stores toy information, a reader for detecting the toy information by a contact-less data transmission system, and a game device. The game device executes a game in which a character representing the toy appears. The toy is able to store play information about the game inputted by data transmission which is then used in the game device when the game is executed. The play information may change an attribute of the character, an action of the character, the shape of the character or a scene of the game.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,565 discloses a three dimensional physical toy that can be manipulated by a user and that is connected to a computer. Interchangeable accessory parts can be plugged into the toy via mechanisms which identify the accessory parts immediately when they are plugged into the toy body. A software program running in the computer displays a graphical character representation of the toy, including the accessory parts that have been plugged into the toy in a virtual environment on a monitor screen. The toy and the accessory parts interact dynamically with the software program so that the graphical character representation of the toy appears on the screen exactly as it physically appears to the user. As various accessory parts are inserted into, or removed from, the toy, the graphical character representation of the toy interacts with the virtual environment in different ways.
However, the above prior art systems require a communications interface between the toy and a computer system. Moreover, the above prior art toys are relatively complicated and include electronic components or even a memory and a communications interface.
Also, the degree of freedom when building the toy from accessory parts is limited to a specific main body of the toy and position of electrical connectors.
It is generally desirable to provide a toy construction system that enhances the educational and/or play value of the system. It is also desirable to provide a toy construction system wherein a set of construction elements may easily be used in different toy construction models and/or in combination with existing toy construction elements. Moreover it is desirable to provide a toy construction system that allows users, in particular children, to construct multiple toy models in a user-friendly, efficient, yet flexible and reliable manner. In particular, it is desirable to provide a toy construction system that allows a user-friendly and flexible manner of creating virtual objects in a virtual environment such as a game system.